Real Name: Cassandra MacIntoshRing Name: Peyton RoyceDOB: November 10th, 1992WWE Debut: May 15, 2015Birthplace: Sydney, AustraliaMini Bio: She is known for her work in the Australian independent wrestling promotions including Professional Wrestling Alliance, New Horizons Pro Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling, Riot City Wrestling and WRESTLE RAMPAGE. Cassidy has also worked for American professional wrestling promotions SHINE Wrestling and SHIMMER Women Athletes. She is currently signed to WWE, working in its developmental territory NXT under the ring name Peyton Royce. MORE

Have you ever met or seen Peyton live? If you answered yes and you have any photos of Peyton you would like to share with other fans then please sent them to us! Our e-mail is here

You will be fully credited for your photos!

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Peyton-Royce.com is in NO way affiliated with Peyton Royce, World Wrestling Entertainment, or any other company. This is strictly a non profit fansite. No copyright infringement is intended. We do not under any circumstances claim ownership over any contents posted on this site and give full credit where it is needed. All photos, video content & media belong to WWE, Peyton Royce, the original photographer, etc. unless otherwise stated. We DO NOT claim ownership of any. All photos are being used under the Fair Copyright Law 107.

With NXT TakeOver: WarGames fast approaching, there is a multitude of reasons why the event is poised to be one for the sports-entertainment history books. One major chapter of that book will be written when Kairi Sane, Ember Moon, Nikki Cross and Peyton Roycecompete in a Fatal-4-Way Match for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship. This week, Royce sat down with WWE.com to speak about her championship aspirations while providing a not so flattering analysis of her opponents.

WWE.COM: Why do you feel you are the favorite to win the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames?

PEYTON ROYCE: The most important thing going into this match is confidence. If I were to doubt myself, I wouldn’t even have a chance to be competing for the NXT Women’s Championship. Since I was 10 years old, I’ve always lived by the motto, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right!” I’ve applied this theory to every aspect of my life, and clearly, it’s a good one because look at me now. I’m about to become the most Iconic champion the WWE Universe has ever seen!

WWE.COM: How have you been preparing for the match?

ROYCE: If I were to publicly give away my secrets, I’d be dumb. I am an intelligent woman who is focused on the prize. All I can say is I’ve pushed and pulled more numbers in the gym than I saw at the NXT Combine this year. I’ve been picking the brains of multiple coaches at the WWE Performance Center, like Norman Smiley, Terry Taylor and Sara Amato. Not to mention, my diet has been 100 percent on point, and my tape study has been never ending.

WWE.COM: How difficult has it been to know that your partner in crime, Billie Kay, did not qualify to be part of this match?

ROYCE: I gave myself 24 hours to go through the emotions that came with realizing I’d be in the match without my “Iconic Life Partner.” I went from shocked to livid to depressed, and then managed to pull myself back together. Billie is my support system, just as I am for her. It was actually Billie who told me to move on and get focused, which I have. The two of us always have a plan, whether we are in the match together or not. Knowing B.K. has my back has boosted my confidence, and I know she will be the first person to congratulate me on my win. After all, she’s my best friend.

WWE.COM: Let’s focus on your opponents in this match, particularly Kairi Sane. Some have suggested that you might be intimidated by her abilities.

ROYCE: I am not intimidated by Kairi Sane! I do wonder why on earth she dresses in her Halloween getup on a daily basis. That’s a little weird. Sane is obviously putting on a front to try to intimidate me, but I’m smarter than that. I can read her like a book because she’s transparent to me. I will not be intimidated.

WWE.COM: How about the unpredictability of Nikki Cross?

ROYCE: Crazy Nikki has the benefit of having no inhibitions. I don’t think she thinks before she does anything. In fact, Nikki doesn’t have a chance to think about what she’s doing because her body is already doing it. Nikki is totally unpredictable, which can be frightening. However, I am no stranger to her. I’ve been in the ring with Nikki enough times to study her, and boy, have I studied her!

WWE.COM: Last but not least, a woman who has had your number in the past, Ember Moon.

ROYCE: First of all, you’re living in the past. Move on! I believe Ember Moon is in her own head. I can see it in her eyes. My confidence and relationship with Billie is intimidating to her. The past is the past, and it’s not a good place to live. You’ve got to move forward, and this time around, I’ve got her scouted more than ever.

WWE.COM: How will you change the NXT Women’s division if you leave NXT TakeOver: WarGames with the NXT Women’s Title?

ROYCE: The first order of business would be to make this division absolutely iconic. If you thought Asuka was a dominant champion, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m going to be the face of the Women’s division, and I’m going to bring all the ladies up to my level through tough love and competition. I care about the NXT Women’s division a lot, so by being its champion, I can really do wonderfully exceptional things for our futures as Superstars. The women might not know it yet, but they will surely thank me later. Every woman on the NXT roster learns from me every day, and they will continue to learn from me when I become their champion.

When Peyton Royce and Billie Kay first joined the ranks of NXT, it seemed their story was something out of a fairytale. Two Australian-born women who attended the same high school in Sydney, trained at the same wrestling school and eventually achieved their lifelong dream of joining WWE at the same time. A year and a half later, the fairytale is now a nightmare for the rest of NXT’s Women’s division.

“Our partnership is so strong because of its foundation,” Billie Kay told WWE.com. “A lot of teams in NXT form because they have the common goal of winning. Peyton and I are much more than that. No one has our back story.

“We were the only two people who got signed by WWE at our tryout in Melbourne, Australia. We moved here together and lived together. I know what Peyton is thinking before she thinks it and she knows what I’m going to do before I do it. Our bond to each other is what makes us iconic.”

While it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand how highly Royce and Kay think of themselves, it’s their antics that have placed them in a questionable light. Those antics have been on display with the mental and physical intimidation both ladies have used to target Liv Morgan.

“Liv Morgan is dumb if she thinks she can make waves in NXT by herself,” Royce said. “Billie and I are smart. We are well aware we can get the job done on our own but we are also humble enough to realize we can run this division together. Her little friend Aliyah found that out after we beat her up, too.”

Could Kay and Royce’s alliance follow in the footsteps of other previously impactful groups, like the BFFs and the famed Four Horsewomen? Both ladies say the key to their journey toward greatness lies in their ongoing ability to keep each other motivated.

“We are extremely honest with each other and share our whole lives together,” Kay revealed. “We know each other’s fears, passions, weaknesses and strengths. We keep each other on track by being each other’s support network.”

NXT’s “Venus Flytrap” echoed her confidant’s declaration.

“We never lose sight of what we want and if one starts slipping, which would never happen, we have no issues getting the other back in line,” Royce said. “We don’t have boundaries with each other, we don’t get offended by each other; we know we are pushing each other to get to where we want to be.”

And where do Royce and Kay want to be? On top of the division as NXT Women’s Champion. However, there is one small kink in their plan: Two women can’t hold one title. Or can they? At the end of the interview, Kay explained.

“The day of our WWE tryout, we got into the cab to take us to the arena,” NXT’s Femme Fatale recalled. “While we were inside the cab, Peyton and I looked at each other and said we would do this together, which is exactly what we have done and have continued to do.

“If one of us gets the opportunity to become the NXT Women’s Champion, the other one will help and support in every way,” Kay continued. “The NXT roster and NXT Universe need to remember that we are more than a team. We are each other’s family, and you don’t turn your back on family.”

NZPWI had the opportunity to speak to WWE NXT Superstar Peyton Royce earlier this month.

Originally from Australia, Royce is a regular fixture on WWE NXT, and will be part of the first-ever NXT tour of Australia and New Zealand this December.

Royce spoke to NZPWI’s David Dunn about her first WWE live event experience, the origin of her name, advice for aspiring WWE Superstars, and more in this interview conducted October 6.

***

David Dunn: We’re here to talk about this WWE NXT tour of Australia and New Zealand. And you, perhaps more so than any other NXT Superstar, have an idea of what it’s like to be on both sides of the fence. You started out as a fan attending WWE shows when they came to this part of the world and now you get to come out as a performer, as an NXT Superstar. What was the first WWE live event you attended?

Peyton Royce: That is a great question. I want to say it was 2005. I can’t exactly remember what it was — no, it was 2006 because I missed seeing Eddie Guerrero live. That was the first thing I remember seeing so I would have been 14 years old, maybe. Ever since then my mum would take me every single year that WWE would come out, and not let me miss it.

I imagine she’ll be there then, at any and all of these NXT shows coming up, to see you perform?

Oh yeah! I have her front-row ticket but she doesn’t know yet.

I hope she doesn’t see this interview and get spoiled.

Yeah, imagine that! [laughs]

Where did the name Peyton Royce come from?

To be honest with you, I just loved the name Peyton. That was one that I sort of had my heart set on. And I was actually trying to find a last name that would match a different first name, which is where I came up with Royce, and then I combined the two and I fell in love with it.

Peyton Royce has come a long way (literally and figuratively) since her in-ring debut in 2009.

About 9,300 miles long.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to live in the [United] States,” said the rising WWE NXT superstar, who is from Sydney, Australia. “So moving here was really easy for me because it was always something I wanted to do.”

Peyton moved to the ‘States’ in 2015.

“I used to say to my mom and dad all the time, ‘I’m going to move to America.’ They always knew that I would, but they didn’t know how I would do it.”

Pro wrestling is how she did it, and surprisingly she has her mom, Kerrie, to first thank for that.

“My mom actually introduced me to it,” Peyton recalled. “She watched Australian wrestling when she was a teenager, and then when we got Foxtel, which is like pay TV here, that was the first thing she showed me, and I absolutely fell in love with it from the very first episode that I watched.”

Just so happens it was WWE programming — SmackDown — and Eddy Guerrero became her instant favorite.

Now she is part of WWE programming, working her way up the ladder on NXT. It’s been some journey, so far.

This Aussie talent is based in Orlando, home of the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center. With WWE style training, she is making a name for herself on the NXT circuit, competing on various shows throughout Florida.

Peyton misses her family, especially her mom — and the food — but she is living her dream.

Cassie McIntosh comes to the WWE Performance Center by way of Melbourne, Australia. A student of WWE, WCW and ECW veteran Lance Storm, McIntosh has been dreaming of being a WWE Diva since the age of 9.

We sat down with the Australian Diva to talk about her inspirations, her friendship with fellow recruit Jessie McKay, coming to America and making her debut on NXT television just weeks after arriving.

WWE.COM: How has everything been going at the WWE Performance Center so far?

MCINTOSH: It’s been pretty cool, to say the least. It’s sort of insane coming here every day. I’m in awe that this is my life now. Back home, you sit at a desk, at a day job, but this is the place you dream of being. I walk through the doors of the PC every day, but I’m still in disbelief.

WWE.COM: What was it like packing everything up and moving from Australia? How’s the adjustment been to life in America?

MCINTOSH: It hasn’t been too hard. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, which makes it a little easier. The other thing that helps is that I’m here with my best friend, Jess McKay. Having her with me, I haven’t gotten homesick like I expected to. We keep each other grounded. It’s made everything a lot easier.

WWE.COM: When we spoke with Jessie a few weeks ago, she mentioned you both went to high school together. Were you friends back then?

MCINTOSH: No, we were not friends in high school. She was four years ahead of me. We’d both figure out the meet and greets when WWE came to Sydney, and take the day off school with our friends to go wait in line for hours and hours. I was always one or two people ahead of her in line, so we used to shoot dirty looks at each other. It was like we had a rivalry over who was the bigger WWE fan.

We knew each other because we were the two massive wrestling fans in high school, but it wasn’t until we started training that we became close. We clicked right away.

WWE.COM: Who are your inspirations in wrestling?

MCINTOSH: Someone who inspired me from the very first time I saw him was Eddie Guerrero. Oh my God, I can still watch everything he’s done. He made you believe everything he said and did. For me, he was the one.